Second-Chance Seduction(48)

                Connor didn’t blame Jake for feeling that way. He knew exactly where the distrust had come from. It was all thanks to their deceitful uncle Hugh and his damnable will. Hugh’s relentless rivalry with their own father had extended beyond the grave, as the three brothers found out last year when it came time to read Uncle Hugh’s last will and testament. A miserable man even on a good day, Hugh had attempted to pit Connor and his brothers against one another in an all-out fight for their inheritance.

                So far, the brothers had outmaneuvered their uncle’s Scottish lawyers and the ludicrous terms of the will. But all of that was irrelevant at the moment. Right now Connor just wanted Jake to lighten up around Maggie.

                He did appreciate that Jake was worried about Maggie worming her way back into Connor’s heart and maybe twisting it into a pretzel and leaving him for dead all over again. But Connor was a lot smarter and stronger now and he wasn’t about to let that happen. So Jake had nothing to worry about on that front.

                And besides, Connor reasoned, it wasn’t as if Maggie had ever lied to Jake. Hell, Connor couldn’t even swear that she’d ever lied to himself, either. She’d just left him. That was all. There had been no lies. No tears. No pretending. Maggie had simply walked out of his life one day and had never looked back.

                Connor rubbed at a twinge in his chest and then swore crudely. This had to be heartburn or something. It couldn’t possibly be the lingering memory of Maggie’s desertion that was causing this stab of pain.

                He sloughed off the ache and concentrated instead on the sight of a tarnished old fishing boat as it puttered into the harbor with its catch of the day. The crusty captain had a pipe shoved in his mouth and a bottle of beer in a handy cup holder next to the wheel.

                Damn it. As much as it bugged Connor to admit it, Jake might have been right to question Connor’s feelings for Maggie. Especially since, like it or not, he still seemed to have a bit of a soft spot when it came to her. Which was a little ironic since he invariably turned hard as stone whenever she was around.

                But that didn’t mean he suddenly trusted her. He didn’t, and wasn’t sure he ever would again. And because of that, it wouldn’t hurt to take a page out of Jake’s book and be even more watchful around Maggie than he’d been before. That redheaded beauty was more than capable of slipping under his guard if he didn’t remain on full alert from now on.

                Connor walked back inside and immediately spotted her exiting an elevator and heading for the lobby. As he approached, she caught sight of him and stopped in her tracks.

                “I was just going to go for a walk.”

                He took hold of her arm. “I just came in from a walk, but I’ll go back out with you.”

                “That’s not necessary.”

                “Yes, it is. You’re my date, remember?”

                “Oh, come on. You don’t need me with you every minute of the day, do you?”

                “Yes, I do.” When her eyes widened, he quickly added, “Because we have a deal, in case you forgot.”

                “Right,” she said, and sighed. “We have a deal. But that shouldn’t mean I don’t get a break once in a while. Especially after being the target of your brother’s evil stink-eye stare.”

                He almost laughed but managed to check himself. He didn’t blame her for ragging on Jake, but he wasn’t about to tell her so. “I didn’t notice.”

                “Oh, please! He was scowling at me the whole time I was standing there. He’s about as subtle as a rhinoceros.”